The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Athletes’ glorious return
Olympic and Paralympic stars hailed for inspiring example
The record-breaking success of Scotland’s Olympic and Paralympic stars is being celebrated.
Dozens of athletes were cheered by children and mobbed for selfies as they arrived at Oriam, the new sports performance centre at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
The homecoming event included a Q&A and an opportunity for young people to try Olympic sports such as rowing, judo and tennis, aided by tips from the athletes.
The event is being followed by a public celebration in Edinburgh’s Festival Square before the athletes attend the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Wheelchair tennis star Gordon Reid proudly showed off his gold and silver medals from Rio 2016 at Oriam.
He said: “It’s been pretty crazy since I got back, the reception has been incredible. To be able to come back and share the success is nice and to see so many kids here is great.
Hopefully, the chance to see a gold or silver medal and maybe try it on will inspire them to go and do the same in the future.”
Rio 2016 was Scotland’s most successful overseas Olympics, with Scottish competitors securing 13 medals – four gold, seven silver and two bronze.
Scots athletes on the ParalympicsGB team won 17 medals, surpassing their London 2012 total of 11.
They included Aberdeen’s Neil Fachie, 33, who won a silver medal in the 1km tandem cycle race at the Rio Parlaympics earlier this month. Most of the athletes wore their medals round their neck at the event as they posed for pictures, but swimmer Duncan Scott, who won two silvers in Brazil, had his in his pocket. He said: “A wee kid also dropped one of them in a puddle, but I suppose I can say they’ve got character.” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the athletes have “done their country proud”.